The Elementals/Season 1/Monster Catching
Episode 2, Season 1 of The Elementals! Please comment :) Monster Catching Cloudpaw "Come on!" complained Rainpaw. "You shouldn't believe everything Clawpaw says." "Yeah, who'd want to attack Nightpaw?" agreed Stonepaw. He licked one brown paw and brushed it across his head to clean his face. Scorchpaw just stood silently in the corner. Her orange tabby fur was bristled. She hated talking about injuries and blood and such, and honestly, she would make a terrible medicine cat. It was the day after the arena battles. It was also the day after I had made the mysterious discovery on Nightpaw's strange scratches. Today was our day off for the moon, so I thought it'd be a perfect time to start searching for suspects. We were in the apprentices' cave, which besides us, was empty. I was explaining my conversation with Clawpaw to my siblings, hoping they could help. Their reacton didn't go as planned. "So much fuss over some brambles," muttered Rainpaw grumpily. I shook my head. "You don't understand! If you saw those clawmarks, you would know." Scorchpaw nodded. "I saw the scratches," she added nervously. "Now that I think of it, they were way to deep for brambles. I've been scratched by thorns before. They barely even draw blood unless you walk through a bushfull, and even that doesn't hurt very bad. Nightpaw's scratches were really long and deep and painfull-looking." Stonepaw nodded. "Well, that might be true, but who is injuring Nightpaw? He's the most pathetic apprentice in ThunderClan. He wouldn't hurt a fly." "If it's true, which it probably isn't-" she shot an annoyed look in my direction- "it could be for that exact reason. Maybe someone wants to toughen him up." I perked up, suddenly having an idea. "Guys, if Nightpaw is being attacked, he's probably being used as bait!" she exclaimed. "Someone might be plotting to draw us in by threatening him, so that they can kill us." Rainpaw sighed. "Cloudpaw, stop fantisizing." I stared at the mossy den floor. I hated it when Rainpaw and Stonepaw pushed me around like that. I thought it was a good idea. "Who would want to kill us? And why? We're just apprentices." "Well," continued Stormpaw, scratching the cave ground nervously, "Clawpaw might be really mad at Stonepaw..." Stonepaw shuddered. "Oh my StarClan... she must be out for revege!" she exclaimed. Rainpaw shook her blue-gray head. "It can't be her. First of all, why would she want to kill someone because she cheated? And second, she wouldnt've told Cloudpaw about the "monster" if she was the culprit." "Think about it," I meowed. "She'd want us to think it wasn't her, right? And maybe she thought if she told me about it, we wouldn't suspect her and think that she was just a bystander." "Hmmm.... clever," said Stonepaw. "Not as clever as you," said Stormpaw mischieviously. "Don't start that again!" the brown tom laughed. "So what should we do?" I said. My white fur stuck up in excitement. Rainpaw sighed. "Are we all sure that it wasn't just brambles that scratched Nightpaw?" Scorchpaw nodded. "Yes. So how about we keep an eye on Clawpaw, and see if she does something?" I gasped in excitement. "We could spy on her!" Rainpaw shook her head. "I don't think it's Clawpaw. She would be really overreacting if it was her. And besides, didn't the scratches first show up before sparring? So how about we keep an eye on Nightpaw instead? We could ask him questions, and we could spy on him to see if the mystery cat attacks. No matter who she is, we would catch her, protect our brother, and take her to Swiftstar!" "Great idea, Rainpaw!" I said to the long-haired cat. She smiled with gratitude. "I vote for her idea." Stonepaw said, "How about we go spy on Clawpaw, and you protect Nightpaw?" Scorchpaw nodded. "Okay, good plan," I said. "Now let's go catch some monsters!" Stonepaw I silently stalked in between the branches of the trees. My paws were nimble and graceful and I bounded, quiet as a mouse, over the training hollow. Even the warriors keenest of hearing would be unable to hear my pawsteps. The only sound I made was the quiet rasping of my breath. "You sound like a badger with lung problems," muttered Scorchpaw from behind me. I sighed. "Who said you weren't loud?" I responded in a whisper. She was twice as loud as me. Up in the tree's limbs, she was lumbering like a bear and tripping over her own paws. "Not me," pointed out the orange tabby she-cat. "We're both loud. With all these leaves rustling every time we even take a step, we're not going to get anywhere. Maybe we should go to the ground and spy on Clawpaw through the undergrowth." "We need to stay up here," I told her. "We can see Clawpaw nice and clear up here." That wasn't really true. All the twigs and leaves and sticks were poking my eyes. We were right over the sandy hollow. Scorchpaw had asked Clawpaw what she'd be doing on her day off, and she had said she'd be in the hollow, and not to follow her. Any second, the burly she-cat would come, unaware of the two apprentices in the trees spying on her. Then I heard the rustling of brambles. I flicked my tail into Scorchpaw's leg. "She's here!" I breathed. We settled down on the branches and gazed into the hollow as Clawpaw walked in. The brown tabby she-cat was glancing around nervously. That's wierd. She's never nervous. Her muscular legs trembled slightly. Her claws were unsheathed and ready to fight. Her usually violent eyes were dim and cloudy. Then I recognized something in my own thoughts. Violent eyes... where have I heard that before? I thought. Then she straightened up, cleared her throat, and called out in the the forest. "The password is: Shadow's Apprentice. I've made my choice." I nearly jumped out of the tree as I heard a noise like howling wind rustling the brambles, even though it was a clear, calm day. A shiver went down my spine, as if a cat was stratching it with cold, bloody claws and leaving stains in my fur. A shadow covered my vison for a few seconds, then was gone. What was that? I shot a look back at Scorchpaw to see her shivering with fear. She'd felt the strange phenominon too. Then a soft hissing whisper came from the trees in front of Clawpaw. It made me quiver on my branch. "Have you decided to come help, Clawpaw? Remember our deal..." The voice let out a long, snakelike hiss. I couldn't tell whether it was a she-cat or a tom speaking. "If you do, you will be rewarded greatly. If you do not, then you will be cursed for eternity..." It let the end of the word stretch three times too long. Clawpaw was shivering, even though the greenleaf sun warmed her back. I had never seen her even worried, and she was as scared as a kit in a fox den. Come help with what? "No," she said, her voice wavering. "I can't. I have other plans." "Are you sure? Great power will come to you if you help..." "Well... maybe. I'll need longer to think about it." "There is no time to think about it!" rasped the voice. "You will gain the power you need, or..." Then there was a sharp sound, as if claws the size of badgers were unsheathing. Clawpaw shook her head. "I barely know who you are. I haven't even seen your face. You're just a weak cat scrabbling for a life. I don't know what Clan you're from, or if you're just a rouge." There was a long, rasping sigh from the cat in the trees. "I'll give you more time to think," whispered the voice. "But if you don't come by midnight to tell me your choice..." The voice let out a long hisssssss. "I will find you..." There was a rustling in the bushes, and the cat disapeared. Ominous. I turned around to stare at Scorchpaw. This is way bigger than we thought it was. Scorchpaw We met up with the others in the training hollow after Clawpaw had left. "So I was thinking, maybe the cat who was plotting with Clawpaw is also attacking Nightpaw!" I exclaimed after telling the mysterious story. Rainpaw's eyes widened. "I thought this was just some apprentice causing trouble but... this is big. If I'd known, I wouldn't be a part of this without telling the leader! Someone's meddling with the ThunderClan apprentices, and we need to figure out who." I felt a bubble of pride in my chest. My siblings usually didn't take my ideas too well. "Maybe he was a rouge?" mused Cloudpaw. Stonepaw nodded. "I think that they'd either be from ThunderClan or a rouge. They couldn't really travel across the lake and attack a few cats, then come back, without being caught. A rouge could slip around unnoticed, and a ThunderClan cat would have all their targets at their feet." Bubble popped. I wished that I could think like that. "What did he look like?" asked Cloudpaw. "We didn't see him... or her," I told the white she-cat. "We only heard them." "So what do you know about them?" meowed Rainpaw. Her white paws shuffled around the sand in the hollow. "Well, before they began talking," Stonepaw said, "I heard this weird sound- like a wolf howling or the wind blowing. Then I suddenly felt really cold and uncomfortable, and I couldn't see." "Me too!" I exclaimed. "I was wondering if it happened to you." "What does that mean?" squeaked Cloudpaw. Her eyes widened. "What if it was a prophecy from StarClan?" Rainpaw shook her head. "I hate to break it to you, but StarClan..." "Is completely real!" Stonepaw finished. "No, I believe in StarClan," said Rainpaw. "It's just that... why would they visit in the middle of you spying on someone while sitting in a tree?" "OR the middle of a Clan meeting?" pointed out Cloudpaw. "I'' heard that Briarleaf collasped in the middle of a meeting on Highrock and fell off and hit her head! She was out for twenty days! And StarClan did it to her." I was guessing that my little sister was stretching the details a bit. As usual. "Cats, let's just ignore that wierd phenomenon for a second," I told my sisters and brother. "That might have been a coincidence. What's important is finding out who this was and turning him in!" At first they ignored me. After a few times, they finally listened (what a rare occasion). "I have a plan," meowed Rainpaw. "So, Scorchpaw and Cloudpaw, you look around and see if you find any clues near the training hollow of where the mystery cat might be now, or who they were. Check for tufts of fur, claw shavings, scratches in the ground, scents... whatever will tell us where they've been. Stonepaw, you keep an eye on Clawpaw and see if she goes back to the training hollow. You might be able to catch that cat who was plotting with her. I'll spy on Nightpaw from the ground. Cloudpaw and I didn't get much information, but we know that he will be practicing hunting with our dad on the west side of the woods, by ShadowClan. I'l move to the clearing and see if I can find them there." We nodded. "Good plan," said Cloudpaw. Stonepaw was probably thinking that, but didn't want to admit. We headed out. "I found a scratch!" yowled Cloudpaw. I raced over to the bramble bush behind the hollow where Cloudpaw was standing. We had been searching for hours with no luck. We'd had plenty of false alarms, it's true, but no real proof. ''Finally! I looked down at the scratch in the ground. It was a huge clawmark sliced into the soil, and it was drenched in the scent of badger. "Nope," I told her. "At least we can tell Blackheart to take patrols over here and watch for badgers." Cloudpaw sighed. It was past sunhigh, and the patrols would be coming back with more prey soon. I defenitly did NOT want to miss any chance of food. "Maybe we should head back," I suggested. "We have to keep looking!" exclaimed the white she-cat. "What if we leave right before the cat comes by?" "I don't"- suddenly, I heard a hissing noise. We froze. My mind whirled. Snake? Fox? ShadowClan? Windstorm? Then a suspiciously familiar voice brushed my ears. "Pathetic thing! ... barely a worthy warrior, let alone useful! ... You'll have to work harder in your training if you are to be a powerful leader one day! ... not even a kit could be as slow and clumsy as you..." "There it is," I whispered to my sister. "Follow me, and be quiet." We stalked towards the bushes nearby, where the sound was coming from. I kept my pawsteps light and catious. If we gave ourselves away, then we would never have a chance to find the cat who was hurting Nightpaw "You are the smallest, weakest excuse for a cat I have ever trained..." ''the voice meowed. I could tell it was probably NIghtpaw it was talking to. ''And what do they mean by "trained"? Is it his mentor? ''My heart jumped at this thought. Shredfang could be the one to be injuring him- he was very tough on the apprentice. I couldn't believe that this was it. Only half the day had past, and we had already caught them. We were right there, in front of the culprit. The one that was plotting with sinister Clawpaw and hurting my poor brother. (I may not like my brother, but no one picks on him!" Cloudpaw's tail flicked at my flank. "On three," she breathed. I crouched down and prepared to attack. "One...two..." When she said three, we came barreling out of the bushes, yowling like maniacs, into the small clearing, almost running straight into Nightpaw. We skidded to a hault. Nightpaw was the only cat in the clearing. His eyes were filled with fear. His pelt was crusted with drying blood, and fresh scratches covered his pelt. "W-what... where?" I stammered. Nightpaw stared and me with guilt glistening on his face. He only said one thing. "Please don't tell Swiftstar about this." ''What? Rainpaw I was dreaming. I walked along the riverbank, the fresh sand catching between my claws. The night sky twinkled with thousands of stars overhead. Silverpelt shone above and lit up the hanging willow trees' drooping branches and the sycamores' thick, strong ones. The stream rolled peacefully to my left. I could see glimmers of silver scales and fish playfully tumbled in the cool water, flickering near the floor of the small river and hiding in overhanging nooks of moss and grasses. I sat down next to the bubbling creek. I dipped a paw in. It felt cool and soothing against my paws, tired from trekking through the woods in search of Nightpaw and his harrasser. Then it hit me- the vison. Furious pain overtook my body, starting in my chest, then spreading down my legs into my paws, up into my face and my head and to the very tips of my ears, moving down to the end of my tail. I shuddered and writhed. Make it stop! ''It burned like fire agaisnt my skin, scorching me and stroking its blistering claws at my blueish-gray pelt. My head throbbed. Pebbles and sand were flung up as I thrashed on the ground. Flames danced in my vison. I heard myself screaming, "OH MY STARCLAN! MAKE IT STOP!" Then a hissing voice whispered into my ear: ''"Fire will warm or ruthlessly kill The souls of the innocent cats of ill..." Screams rang into my ears. I saw cats falling to the ground as fire spread across the ThunderClan cat. Two warriors thrashed in the flames, both their pelts blazing. An elder was screaming in her nest as the fire engulfed the den around her and trapped her inside, screaming for mercy. A kit tripped off of a ledge and fell into the ocean of flames. Then the visons dissapeared, and so did the pain. Silence. Then the aching was replaced with a warm, cozy feeling, as if I'd taken a piece off the greenleaf sun and spread it into my pelt. The agony was washed away my the calming feeling. Then I saw something new- a medicine den staring concered down at a frail, skinny cat. Coughs racked his body. Then he looked up at the medicine cat, the weakness fading from his eyes as he felt the warmth, too. He stood up, stretched, and left the den. Then my whole world was plunged into darkness. I felt water rippling and sloshing against my fur. The voice came again. "Water will bring the Clans from the sun Into the shade of the Island of One..." I saw trees above me, their branches stretching out across the sky. I heard the water still rippling against me. I heard cat's voices, unrecognizable, ringing through the forest- "Let the Rebellion Meeting begin!" "We must find the Apprentice and kill him if we are to defeat what ShadowClan has become." "We will make the four Clans great again. No matter what it takes." "The Elementals can defeat the forces of evil! Isn't that what StarClan said?" "Rainstar! Rainstar! Rainstar!" My heart jumped at the last one. Is this a prophecy from StarClan? I'm going to be a leader one day? I felt wind rattle my body for a split second, then disapeared. Then I felt the rippling water in my pelt replaced by rocks. They pressed into my skin, making me bleed. I felt the rough texture softened by moss growing on the stones. I was walking through a pitch-black tunnel, crouching as it pressed against all my sides. "Earth will end the battle from the gale But will induce an accidental betrayal..." I leaned against the wall as visons rushed into me again. The ground trembled beneath my feet. Cats clashed with each other. Blood sprayed across the barren battlefield. Suddenly, and rip in the ground opened up, and the cats slid in, thrashing and pummeling with their claws. They disapeared into the darkness of the pit. At the edge of the scene, a tom stood on a hill overlooking the battle. His eyes were full of sorrow and guilt and tears. Suddenly, the visons left me. Then the wind I had felt came back. It pushed me against the walls of the cave, and then the cave vanished and left me falling through the sky into darkness. My long blue fur flew everywhere. My eyes watered in the wind beating at my face. "Under the stormclouds, Air will cower Before discovering the greatest power..." Visons streamed into my mind again. A cackling cat made of darkness and evil, standing high on a cliff overlooking a pile of cat bones beneath. Then thunder crackled in the air and lightning shot from the gray clouds overhead. I smell burning fur and death. Then the dream ended. There was just silent black. Was that a vison from StarClan? No. It can't be. None of that could happen. A crack in the earth swallowing warriors? A pile of bones? A fire directly in the camp? No. Before I drifted off into a dark, dreamless sleep, I thought- But what if it does?